"VIVA LAS VEGAS" a Las Vegas Travel Page by Gage17

Las Vegas is a land of superlatives and extremes. Where else on the planet can you visit Paris, Rome, the South Pacific, Rio, Mardi Gras, Venice, the Sahara, New York, And Egypt in one place? I have lived here off and on for two years, and I am still amazed at the grandeur of the Strip. It baffles me to look at all the colorful buildings all in a line and know that inside are thousands upon thousands of rooms... and most nights of the week, they are sold out. This place defies all reason.

And I absolutely love it here. I love the freedom of having bars and buffets open 24 hours. I love that everyone is here to have a good time. I love all the commotion and chaos at times.

Drive down Las Vegas Boulevard and marvel at all the neon lights, the massive hotels, and the flow of people on the sidewalks. Las Vegas is unique unto itself... it truly is unlike any other place in the universe!

Another thing that impresses me about Las Vegas is the world that exists outside of the Strip. As a tourist, Red Rocks Canyon and the Hoover Dam are probably the most accessible and visited sites, but there are corners of the desert where you can find yourself alone with nature. Pretty much anything worth seeing off the Strip will be under the "Off the Beaten Path" section. It is so fantastic to take the time to get away from the fantasyland of the Strip every so often for a break along the shores of Lake Mead or back in the canyons of Red Rocks or in the forests of Mt. Charleston. All the same, the Strip is the center of the Las Vegas universe, and whenever I go climbing a mountain around the valley, it is always my point of reference. How strange to sit there on a quiet mountain summit and look over to the Strip and know that there is a whole other world of crazy going on right there!